The Palestinian issue has remained a central and unshakeable cornerstone in various Arab summits, both regular and extraordinary, including regional ones.
Since their inception in 1946 in Egypt, the resolutions of Arab summits have consistently reaffirmed the central status of the Palestinian issue as an issue for all Arabs. It aims at regaining the legitimate and inalienable rights of Palestinians.
Over the course of 77 years, some Arab summits have adopted similar resolutions regarding the Palestinian issue. However, there are summits that are described as "pivotal" in the history of Arab positions on the Palestinian issue, for going beyond the traditional and diplomatic pattern of decisions. Among the most notable of these summits is the Khartoum Summit, historically known as the "Three No's Summit."
The Fourth Arab Summit was held in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, between August 29 and September 1, 1967, following the defeat of Arab armies in June 1967 (known as the Arab setback or the Six-Day War), and the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, the Syrian Golan Heights, and the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula. Leaders from all Arab countries, except Syria, which called for a popular liberation war against Israel, participated in the summit.
The circumstances arising from the Arab setback compelled Arab leaders to adopt what were described as "firm" decisions, such as the declaration of the Three No's: no peace, no negotiation, no recognition of Israel.
The closing statement of the summit stated that the Arab leaders felt a shared sense of responsibility for the historical burden facing the Arab people at this critical and delicate stage of the struggle. They affirmed their determination to stand united in the face of the challenges and the responsibilities cast upon the Arab people.
The first Arab gathering (summit) was held in May 1946 in the Anshas Palace in Alexandria, Egypt, to advocate for the Palestinian cause. Its resolutions emphasised the Arab identity of Palestine and its destiny being linked to the conditions of all Arab League countries. It was held before the official declaration of the establishment of the "State of Israel" in 1948.
The Cairo Summit in 1964, which acquired the official status of Arab summits, emphasised in its resolutions the need to clear the Arab atmosphere of disputes, support Arab solidarity, and establish a unified leadership for the Arab countries' armies. It also affirmed that the establishment of "Israel" posed a danger to the Arab nation and called for the creation of a unified leadership for the armies of Arab countries. In the same year, the second ordinary Arab summit was held in Alexandria, welcoming the establishment of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) as the representative of the Palestinian people.
The third Arab summit was hosted by Casablanca in Morocco in September 1965, where the Arab Solidarity Charter was adopted and the support for the Palestinian cause in all international forums was reinforced. The summit hosted in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, in 1969, with the participation of 14 countries, aimed to develop an Arab strategy to confront Israel and support the Palestinian revolution.
In the Algiers Summit in 1973, which had 16 Arab countries participating, the first official Arab declaration of the possibility of "peace" with Israel was made. The summit set two conditions for peace with Israel: the withdrawal from all occupied Arab territories, including Jerusalem, and the restoration of all the national rights of the Palestinian people.
At the ninth Arab summit held in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, in 1978, the leaders of participating Arab countries affirmed their support for the Palestinian Liberation Organisation and the necessity of agreeing on any future solution to the Palestinian issue. They also acknowledged their refusal to accept the Camp David Accords signed between Egypt and Israel because it contradicted the decisions of Arab summits.
During this summit, a decision was made to relocate the headquarters of the Arab League from Egypt to Tunisia, temporarily suspending Egypt's membership in the league until the reasons for suspension are removed.
In November 1979, Tunisia hosted the tenth regular Arab summit, where Arab leaders reiterated their commitment to supporting the Palestinian cause and condemned the Camp David Accords and the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty. They emphasised their support for Lebanon's sovereignty over its entire territory, the need to maintain its independence and national unity, and their rejection of Israeli attempts to dominate southern Lebanon.
In the year 2000, following the uprising against Israeli occupation, which erupted after Ariel Sharon's entry into the holy Jerusalem site in September of the same year, an emergency summit was held in Cairo, known as the "Al-Aqsa Summit." Among its decisions was the establishment of two funds: the first named the Al-Quds Uprising Fund with a capital of $200mn, and the second named the Al-Aqsa Fund with a capital of $800mn.
Following that, the Beirut Summit in 2002 introduced the "Arab Peace Initiative," launched by the then-Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud. It called for the establishment of an internationally recognised Palestinian state along the 1967 borders, the return of refugees, the withdrawal from the occupied Golan Heights, in exchange for Arab states' recognition of Israel and normalisation of relations with it.
This summit marked the first Arab discourse mentioning East Jerusalem as the capital of the desired Palestinian state, as opposed to the united city of Jerusalem.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict remained a top agenda item at the seventeenth regular Arab summit in Algiers in March 2005, where Arab leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the Arab Peace Initiative as the legitimate Arab approach to achieving a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace. They also expressed their condemnation of Israel's ongoing construction of the separation wall.
In January 2009, Doha hosted an emergency summit following the Israeli aggression on Gaza in December 2008 to January 2009. The summit condemned the Israeli aggression on Gaza and called for an immediate cessation of all forms of aggression, withdrawal from the territory, lifting the blockade, opening border crossings, and the seaport. During this summit, the then-Mauritanian president, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, announced the severance of diplomatic relations between his country and Israel and the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador from Nouakchott.
The summit also affirmed the pursuit of legal action against Israel to hold it accountable for war crimes committed in Gaza and demanded compensation for the affected individuals. It stressed the immediate and permanent opening of crossings and the unrestricted entry, distribution of all humanitarian aid within the Gaza Strip.
In 2013, the Doha Summit adopted two proposals from Qatar, including the organisation of a mini-summit for Palestinian reconciliation in Cairo and the establishment of an Arab fund dedicated to Jerusalem with a capital of $1bn.
The 29th summit, held in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, in April 2018, declared the rejection of all unilateral Israeli steps that change the facts on the ground and undermine the two-state solution. It also announced the invalidity and illegitimacy of considering Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and it called on the world's nations not to relocate their embassies to Jerusalem or recognise it as Israel's capital.
Arab summits and their statements continue, and the Palestinian issue remains the Arabs' foremost concern and the key to peace, security, and stability in the Middle East region. The Arab nations, their people, and their governments seek a just, lasting, and comprehensive solution that fulfills all the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. Through reviewing the key decisions of important Arab summits, it is evident that the Palestinian issue remains central to the Arab countries, and it is an unwavering reality for the Arab world.
